Trump administration to refer Maine to Justice Department over
transgender participation in sports
[April 11, 2025]
By PATRICK WHITTLE
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The deadline has arrived for Maine officials to
reach a resolution with the U.S. Education Department over a finding
that the state violated antidiscrimination laws by allowing transgender
athletes to participate in girls’ sports.
The Education Department said in March that an investigation concluded
the Maine Department of Education violated the federal Title IX law by
allowing transgender girls to participate on girls’ teams. The
investigation followed a public disagreement between Democratic Maine
Gov. Janet Mills and President Donald Trump at a February meeting of
governors.
The U.S. Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights issued a final
warning on March 31 telling the state it needed to comply with the law
in 10 business days or face enforcement from the U.S. Justice
Department. That deadline arrived Friday.
Maine education officials have declined to comment on the investigation.
Trump has said the state risks losing federal funding if it does not
come into compliance.
“The Maine Department of Education’s indifference to its past, current,
and future female athletes is astonishing. By refusing to comply with
Title IX, MDOE allows — indeed, encourages — male competitors to
threaten the safety of female athletes, wrongfully obtain girls’
hard-earned accolades, and deny females equal opportunity in educational
activities to which they are guaranteed under Title IX,” said Craig
Trainor, acting assistant secretary for the Education Department’s
Office for Civil Rights.
Federal funding is critical to Maine schools. Maine got $358 million in
federal funding for K-12 schools in 2021-22, or 10% of its budget,
according to data from the Census. About 13% of that money went to Title
I, 14% to special education and 20% to child nutrition programs such as
school lunches.
Almost half of federal funds were simply marked as “other,” which likely
points to the substantial COVID relief funds schools got that year.
Prior to the pandemic, Maine got 6% of its funding from federal sources,
almost $185 million in 2018-19.
The issue of school funding and transgender participation in sports in
Maine began to bubble up when Mills and Trump sparred over the subject
during the February meeting at the White House. During the meeting,
Trump threatened to pull federal funding from Maine if the state did not
comply with his executive order barring transgender athletes from
sports.
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Maine Gov. Janet Mills speaks to the media in this July 19, 2023,
file photo, at the State House in Augusta, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert
F. Bukaty, file)
Mills responded: “We’ll see you in court.”
Soon after, the Education Department and the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services launched investigations into the state.
Health and Human Services officials said in March that the Maine
Department of Education, Maine Principals’ Association and a high
school are each in violation of Title IX because of the
participation of transgender athletes. The Health Department has
already referred the issue to the Justice Department for enforcement
in court.
The principals’ association and school district both said they would
not comply with a proposed agreement to ban the athletes. The Maine
education department declined to comment.
Maine Republicans, who are in the minority in both houses of the
Legislature, have put pressure on state Democrats to resolve the
investigations. House Republican Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham,
speaking during a news conference, said Mills has created a “hostage
situation” that jeopardizes federal funding.
“The governor, and her administration, is holding Maine schools and
Maine education under hostage,” Faulkingham said. “This standoff is
not going to end well for the state of Maine and its education
funding.”
LGBTQ+ rights groups in Maine have defended the state’s approach.
“We’re not giving in, and we’re not giving up on our trans
community,” EqualityMaine said in a social media post.
Federal authorities have also said they are investigating Maine due
to claims school districts in the state violate federal law by
withholding information about students’ gender transitioning from
parents.
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Associated Press writer Sharon Lurye in New Orleans contributed to
this report.
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